A picture book, but not (quite) as we know it

Small illustrations for small screens

E-readers are so book like that you’d think for someone used to writing and illustrating for print it would be relatively straightforward to create an e-picture book. However, there are some big differences between print and e-readers.

The real puzzle is that an e-book can be viewed on a vast variety of devices of different sizes which sometimes only display in black and white. With a print book, an illustrator knows very early on what page size they’re creating work for and whether or not it will be seen in colour. These things have a big influence on what’s produced.

Knowing exactly how illustrations will be seen in a printed picture book means images can safely bound across double-page spreads or be scattered as vignettes without fear of confusing readers, while text can be woven into the page design. 

Compare that with the great unknown of e-readers. If a picture-book wants to cater for smaller devices, such as smartphones, the competition for page space between words and picture is very intense. There's a big risk of causing confusion by using double-page spreads, multiple vignettes, lots of text, and cool-but-complicated design.

As a parent, I certainly want my e-picture book to cater for smartphones. In my experience, a phone is often what’s closest to hand when out-and-about with a disgruntled child that's in desperate need of amusement.

Ultimately, I chose to illustrate for a small rectangle about the size of my kindle e-reader screen. And while my work is in colour, I've also had to take care that the illustrations will still work when viewed in black and white. 
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I hope I’ve learned enough along the way to make my first ever picture book designed and illustrated specifically for e-readers, Bel & Pip’s Apple Adventure, a good read.

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